1 Index Letter from the editor Philip Horan 3 European Shakuhachi Festival 2010 Marek Matvija 4 The Swiss Shakuhachi Society Madeleine Zeller 6 The Shakuhachi in Germany Albert G. Helm 9 Shin-Tozan Ryû France Jean-François Lagrost 11 La Voie du Bambou Daniel Lifermann 13 The Shakuhachi in Italy Fiore De Mattia 15 The Shakuhachi in Ireland Philip Horan 17 The Kyotaku Tradition in Europe Hans van Loon 18 Playing Shakuhachi in the Netherlands Joke Verdoold 20 The Shakuhachi in Spain Jose Vargas- Zuñiga 22 The Shakuhachi in Sweden/Finland Niklas Natt och Dag 24 The Shakuhachi Scene in the UK Kiku Day/Michael Coxall 26 The Shakuhachi in Denmark Kiku Day 31 Membership page 34 Cover-work by Dominique Houlet [email protected] What I could say is when I was 20, I spent some time in India with a wonderfull side-blown flute made of madake bamboo. I had great experiences playing for people. I met my actual teacher/master in a temple after a memorable improvisation. I’m still translating his speeches into French today. My job is in the graphic arts, as I was a prolific artist when a teenager. I create websites, logos, illustrations and lay-outs for communication as an independant designer. I discovered synthesizers some time ago, computers from their begining and digital arts/photography. I plunged into macro photos of flowers and realised a concert/show with a film made of flower pictures, called “Listening to the Flowers” where I played shakuhachi live. So I choose to learn shakuhachi for the occasion, and had around 6 months to get ready for the concert. I took lessons with Jean-François Lagrost in Paris and now continue with Véronique Piron. I’m fond of jinashi and hocchiku, Kinko honkyoku and improvisations with other instruments. I like to interest people in shakuhachi and share inspiration and the simple treasures of life. 2 Hi everyone, ! This is a very exciting time in the world of European shakuhachi. The formation of the Euro- pean Shakuhachi Society, various summer schools and performances of shakuhachi have made the shakuhachi more popular in Europe. We are also seeing closer ties between the various shakuhachi communities from all corners of Europe. ! This issue of the newsletter entitled “The Shakuhachi in Europe” celebrates these develop- ments. Many thanks to the contributors who represent all facets of shakuhachi from teach- ers, performers, makers and pupils. If there is anyone who ‘missed the boat’ for this issue and would like to contribute an article for a future issue, please get in touch. The new website is soon to be launched with more information about the teachers, events and performances in Europe. A special thanks to the translators who have made the articles in this edition more accessi- ble to so many. We will need help in the coming months translating some of the material on the website into various languages. Please contact me at [email protected] if you think you could offer your time in this important endeavor. Philip Horan (publications officer of the European Shakuhachi Society). 3 European Shakuhachi Festival 2010, Prague – to be held in August with expanded programme Translation of an article from the Japanese by Mariko Mori and edited by Marek Matvija. A large-scale world shakuhachi festival has been held once every four years. We reported on the Sydney Festival 2008 in our August 2008 issue. The next world shakuhachi festival is planned for Kyoto in 2012. In addition to this large-scale international festival, other smaller ones have been held across the world every year. Particularly, the Shakuhachi Festival in Prague, which is expanding its’ scale in Europe. Vlastislav Matouŧek PhD, who teaches at the Czech Academy of Music (HAMU) and Charles University, was extremely impressed with the sound of shakuhachi when he first heard it in Prague. Ten years later, in 1995, he was invited to Japan by the Japan Foundation, where he studied shakuhachi for six months with Kifu Mitsuhashi. After returning to his country, he laid foundations to what was to the Prague Shakuhachi Festival. It started with a workshop in March 2003 and since then it has been held every summer. Students come to the festival from the Czech Republic and many other European countries. A variety of concerts performed in the festival attract many of the public of Prague. In 2006, the European Shakuhachi Society was set up. Mr Christopher Yohmei (an artistic adviser and instructor at the Prague Festivals) says “Prague is 4 becoming a centre for shakuhachi society in Europe.” In addition to Christopher Yohmei, some other high-profile performers, such as Kifu Mitsuhashi, Kumiko Shuto (Biwa), Keisuke Zenyoji, were invited as teaching staff to the festivals held in 2008 and 2009. Over the years, the Prague Shakuhachi Festival has also attracted highly esteemed artists coming from the Czech Republic and abroad, such as the Emmerson Prize winner, James Ragan, composer and performer, Ganesh Anandan, and the prolific Czech visual artist Radim Labuda. In 2010, the European Shakuhachi Festival will be held from 26th to 30th August. The festival will have an expanded coverage, including Jiuta-sokyoku (koto music) and inviting Japan’s big-name performers including Satoshi Shimura, Shinzan Yamamoto and Kikuko Sato. “We intend to organise a comprehensive programme that will capture the entirety of shakuhachi music,” says Christopher Yohmei. Furthermore, the festival will present some of the most significant European shakuhachi players, including an excellent composer and performer, Jim Franklin. The four-day programme will be run in two parts: students will enjoy intensive workshops, practical lessons and lectures in the morning and public concerts in the evening. The programme covers a wide range of music including classic honkyoku, jiuta-sokyoku, contemporary and modern Japanese music, and even avant-garde music. The programme emphasises collaboration with local performers, artists and researchers. Two years ago, a discount scheme was introduced for beginners offering “an absolute beginner’s course”, which definitely encouraged more people to start learning shakuhachi. During the festival, students will enjoy other cultural sessions on such topics as general Japanese music, calligraphy, zazen, etc. From this year, experimental Japanese films will be shown every evening in the venue. You can find more info about the event at www.komuso.cz 5 The Swiss Shakuhachi Society - chikuyusha.ch by Madeleine Zeller Introduction The long tradition of the shakuhachi in Switzerland was initiated several decades ago, by the internationally renowned shakuhachi expert Andreas Fuyā Gutzwiller. While working on his PhD in ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University in the USA, he took up his studies of shakuhachi music. His illustrious teachers were Araki Kodo V and Kawase Junsuke III whom he followed to Japan. In 1976, he became the first non-Japanese certified shakuhachi teacher (shihan) of the Kinko Ryā. He was furthermore conducting research on the history of the shakuhachi. These comprehensive studies led to the publication of “Die Shakuhachi der Kinko-Schule”, a classical text in today’s shakuhachi literature. Back in Switzerland in 1980, Andreas Gutzwiller started teaching shakuhachi at the Musik-Akademie Basel where he was head of the Department for Non- Western Music until his retirement in 2005. Under his influence, Basel soon became an important center for shakuhachi music. A great number of students, both professional and amateur, got to know the shakuhachi and its music, especially the Kinko tradition. Four of his students achieved a Teaching Certificate (Shihan Menjú) in shakuhachi from Zenkoku Chikuyāsha Tokyo. The Swiss Shakuhachi Society – www.chikuyusha.ch The society, founded in September 2005, actually counts 39 members, including five teachers. It represents the shakuhachi players in Switzerland and also is, as the composed name implies, a subsection of Zenkoku Chikuyāsha in Tokyo. Since most teachers come from the Kinko tradition, this style plays an important role within the Swiss Shakuhachi Society. One teacher represents the Jikishú style of Tadashi Tajima while two others are teaching Myúan Taizan and Itchúken traditions. Further information and photos under www.chikuyusha.ch 6 Activities The society offers a large variety of activities to its’ members and to people playing or interested in the shakuhachi: Fukizome – The first playing in the New Year This is the annual Party with ad hoc playing for shakuhachi players and their families and friends. Members and non-members are welcome. Robuki – Blowing the Ro Open for all shakuhachi players, once a month. (Guided by a teacher) Student/players Meeting - Informal gathering with playing (No teaching) Workshops about various themes like • Introduction to different traditions: Kinko, Taizan, Itchúken, Jikishú. • Learning how to play a specific piece: Honkyoku, Sankyoku, Gaikyoku, music for two shakuhachi. • Sankyoku with koto and shamisen. Lectures • The history of shakuhachi • The insen of Jiuta • The flutes of the world Summer Workshops • Honkyoku in the Kinko and Taizan tradition, Sankyoku/Jiuta with koto and shamisen. Teachers concert open to public (2008). • 2010 in preparation. 7 8 The Shakuhachi in Germany by Albert G. Helm My name is Albert Helm. I live in NĂrnberg in Southern Germany. Since my childhood, music was my hobby, starting with classical piano, later jazz and rock music and later synthesizers, percussion and Western flute. This happened all on an amateur basis beside my education and professional work. I have from early on been interested in non-western music and frequently attended concerts with music from India and the Middle and Far East. At a concert of Japanese music with honkyoku, I asked Jim Franklin (who gave the concert) whether a trial lesson on the shakuhachi would be possible. Since Jim lived in a town pretty close to my place, I soon started to take lessons from him and became fascinated by the shakuhachi and particularly honkyoku playing.